Made From Skratch

by | Jan 15, 2020 | Alumni Profiles, Fall/Winter 2019-20, Food

Sports physiologist Allen Lim ’94 thought his career was over when he returned home from the 2010 Tour de France and found federal investigators waiting at his door. For a while, it was. He had been working with Lance Armstrong, and when the pro cyclist fell under doping allegations Lim became embroiled in scandal. While Lim said he had nothing to do with Armstrong’s doping, the backlash that followed prevented him from finding a job. “But luckily this is the land of opportunity,” Lim said. “It’s a place where you can reinvent yourself and start from scratch, no matter where you find yourself in life.” For Lim, that meant starting his own company. Boulder, Colorado-based Skratch Labs is the answer for Lim’s athletes who complained that pre-packaged sports bars and drinks were making them sick to their stomachs. Eventually, he created a secret drink mix, using natural ingredients. Today, Skratch Labs has products ranging from energy chews to hydration mixes that are sold online, as well as in bike, running and outdoor shops across the country. Lim recently launched a podcast with VeloNews, a top website for cycling fans, but most of his time is spent testing new products with athletes and meeting with sports scientists and chefs for Skratch Labs. “One of the most humbling lessons I’ve learned in business is you cannot do this alone,” he said. “It takes an entire team clearly understanding the goal and working together. When that happens, it’s kind of magical. To have a team that I belong to is a big deal.”